Second Realm
by ShadowMoonSedai
Summary: The symbol of the Triforce burns strongly once more, she said, and something darker than shadow amasses itself. Come, forces of Light, and save us. All eyes were upon her, and two rose to accept the challenge with hands chosen by the Goddesses themselves.
1. Fog

It was only a vague consciousness of reality she found herself waking to – the dull awareness that something very, very important had happened and she had, in some way, been apart of it. The cause of it, maybe…? Whatever it had been, that was. Something… important…

_Sairah…_

The breeze was her first hint of the reconnection of all her various cognitive functions. It was a warm, gentle touch that ghosted across the bare skin of her face and brushed her hair across her forehead. A tiny, urgent voice began calling from the haze in her psyche and she forced herself to listen to it the best she could – and it spoke of something, an injury, that was possibly fatal unless she checked for it at that very moment. All she needed to do was focus; force her thoughts to form into clear objects, clear patterns and sounds. That was all…

She drifted back, the voice silenced before she could completely heed its words. Memory surfaced – the scent of rain, the feel of air settling heavily onto her skin, the sounds of screaming lost in the blanket of fog… that was right. There had been a fog. Where had she been? School? Yes… school. In school, in choir specifically, when the fog had begun seeping in through the cracks underneath the door… no, not the door to the outside. The door that lead into the hallway, into the building itself. Hadn't it seemed like everyone was oblivious, didn't see it, couldn't smell… couldn't smell what smelled like blood? Why hadn't she called out a warning, then? Why-

The breeze came again, brushing her hair across her skin, and this time, the movement sent such a shock down her spine that everything was forcibly shoved back into place. Her eyes flew open to the sight of the velvety blue sky above-

_The sky was unusually blue, for such a cold day. There wasn't a cloud anywhere in sight, and the weather man had been vague and indecisive as to when there would be. Such a strange winter this had been – cold, freezing cold, but not a snowflake in sight, and never a cloud. And in a place that was known for its high levels of precipitation, it was almost unnerving. _

_"Will you not stop in the middle of the road!" Someone shoved her from behind, out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. "You're such an idiot sometimes!" She turned-_

_"Once again, from the top!" She lifted her head from the book in her lap and frowned – this song was horrible, especially for this choir._

_"Why do we even sing this crap?" she wondered aloud, turning to look at someone sitting next to her-_

_She was running, running as fast as she possibly could, across the grey streaked grass, blindly through the fog that left a copper taste in her mouth. She could still see it in her mind, all of them, their life drained away, sucked into the fog that now glittered with all of the color it had taken away. No matter which way she turned, there it was, always at the edge of her vision. It never touched her, though, not like it had touched them… over their skin, past their lips, reaching deep inside to steal away everything they were…_

_She sobbed then and felt all of her will leave with that one small sound. Her knees hit the grass and she curled around herself, shaking and screaming in turns. It all seemed so scattered, so wrong, because what had they done? None of them had deserved that fate… why wasn't she with them? Why why why? Why did they not feel this overwhelming, choking pain that pressed against her chest and forced out these sobs?_

_"Why won't you take me!" she screamed out finally, suddenly overcome by a blind, red rage that drove her to her feet and into the prismatic fog. "Take me!" she hollered, to the fog, or to whoever was listening, "Take me, damn it! Take-!" A cement stair appeared seemingly out of nowhere and with a yelp, she stumbled down it, landing in an undignified pile on pavement still warm from the sun that had been burning distantly that morning. Another sob heaved itself out as a sharp pain ripped through her leg, but she forced herself to get up and look at what she had done to herself. The fall or the landing or both had ripped a long, jagged hole into the right leg of her pants, and into the leg underneath is at well. As she moved the flaps of fabric aside to examine the wound, blood welled up and spilled over to soak into the heavy weave. She cursed loudly and pressed both hands down onto the wound to slow the blood flow, then leaned all of her weight forward over her leg. Thin lines of red began to seep through her fingers and were almost instantly diluted with the tears that were once again dripping down her face. She sniffled and dropped her head to arms, to hide her crying, though there was no one left to see it. Something touched her shoulder, and she heard a voice whisper in her ear-_

_The waves churned at her feet, but she was only distantly aware of the movement, and never of the sound. She could hear… all that she could hear was that sound, that light, twisting melody that had wrapped itself so firmly around her mind and had called her so deftly to this place where she stood… something told her it was a pond, the part of her that was still fully aware told her it was on the complete other side of the school campus. Had she wandered that far? And this pond… this pond… there had been life lost here, in these waters, something told her. Or not these waters… waters like these… waters like these once had swallowed up a hundred lives or more…_

_The melody stopped and the water stilled almost instantly, becoming like glass. Something whispered to her, tickled her ear as the idea entered, something she had heard not that long ago…_

_**The lake is the way… across the water is the way you must go…**_

_One foot stepped out and into the water. No, onto the water. It was solid now, this once energetic body of life-giving water. Solid enough to support her weight as she placed both feet on the surface and began to walk across. Walk, then jog. Jog, then run. It was so cold here, so very cold and it pressed into her, pressed her down, slowed her steps, but she had to keep moving, had to get away, had to-_

A bird sang, or a frog croaked, or a cricket chirped and she opened her eyes again, not to the sky, but to a large expanse of water, one that she now stood in up to her knees. It was warm and lapped at her like the tongue of an ecstatic puppy. And something was coming towards her, cutting across the water at a rapid pace, so even as she was stepping backwards, up onto dry land, it was gaining on her. She stumbled, as the beach came up behind her, and landed hard on her rear end. Whatever it was pulled itself out of the water and stood over her and was like nothing she had ever seen. His (her?) skin was as pale as something that teased at her mind, and decorated with what seemed to be natural blue tattooing. It took a step towards her and fear welled up in such force that all she saw next was black…

"Ow!" A sharp pain jolted her awake and her hand flew to the spot where it originated from, inadvertently smacking something else, and causing someone else to yelp out in pain. In one instant she became aware of her initial surroundings, and was trying to pull out of it in the next. The man who was apart of those surroundings grabbed her waist just as she started to fall and only then did she expand her mental area to include the horse she was currently sitting on.

"Are you all right?" inquired the voice her captor/savior. She hauled herself up by his shoulder and found herself looking him directly in the face because of it. His eyes were a blue she had seen before but could not place, and the hair that fell from his cap was a brilliant blonde yellow that framed his face. If his nose was a bit too big, that was easily overlooked by the warm smile that radiated out from underneath it. "Please don't scream before I get a chance to explain everything," he continued as she examined him. "You can scream after that, I promise." In truth, she hadn't really been planning on screaming, though in the hindsight brought on by his statement, screaming seemed like a perfectly fine idea. A little girly, however, a damsel-in-distress cliché that she wasn't particularly fond of.

"I'll scream in a moment," she agreed, her voice surprisingly weak and dry. From out of almost nowhere, he offered her a canteen, which she accepted gratefully and, after draining it, demanded with a new found strength, "who the hell are you, however?" He only laughed at this and took the empty canteen back from her gently.

"My name is Link," he said carefully, as if this was somehow news she should pay attention. "You're in the land of Hyrule. Do you remember how you got here?" Though the images were fresh in her mind, she had subconsciously repressed all emotion attached to them – and realizing this, all she did was nod. He heaved a sigh of relief, bringing confusion to the forefront of her mind. "That's good. Do you remember your name?" She was silent a moment, her eyes narrowed into slits of desperate concentration. Who was she? Why hadn't that question come up sooner?

Then, her eyes widened, and she blinked.

"My name is Sairah," she said in wonder, "And I'm the Hero of the Second Realm."


	2. Midnight

"Wait…" Sairah stopped herself and tilted her head to the side. "Is this… the Second Realm?" It wasn't, and she knew it, but for lack of better reasoning, the question made sense. Link shook his head.

"No, this is Hyrule. It's considered the First Realm," he answered. "Do you feel well enough to keep riding? I can tell you what I know on the way."

"And where are we going?"

"Hyrule Castle."

That seemed fair enough, so Sairah nodded. Where _else_ would they be going, after all? In a place where she vaguely remembered being assaulted by a water… sprite (there was another name, wasn't there? What was it…?) and was now sharing a _horse_ with a man dressed like he belonged saving princesses and hunting dragons, a castle fit just fine.

"Good. Just let me know if you feel any sickness at all," said Link, kneeing the horse into movement again. It was a strange request, seeing as she felt just fine, but she kept it in mind. "The people of Hyrule have a symbol that we call the Triforce. It is a triangle that breaks down in three smaller triangles that stand for Wisdom, Power, and Courage. However, it also has another meaning."

"Three realms?" asked Sairah, taking a stab at a conclusion that made the most sense. Link nodded.

"The first, second, and third realms, three dimensions connected as points surrounding the central realm, which we call the Sacred Realm," he continued. "The world where you come from is called the Third Realm, and is the least connected to the other two. Very, very few people of your world knew where the points were. The First and Second Realms, however, have become more integrated in the last few years, due to a need to expand trade."

"Sounds… reasonable." What has he said that nagged at her so? The way a sentence had been worded had caused a chill to run up her spine, but as she thought on it all, she couldn't grasp what exactly it was…

"Basics aside… why am I here?" she asked, tilting her head back and looking up at him. All he did was stare ahead, not actually looking down, though he had to be aware that she was watching him.

"Sairah," he said after a few moments. "Do you remember how you got here? Do you remember what happened?" She let her head fall forward again and stared into the shiny black mane of the horse they were sharing. Did she remember…

… what?

"I…"

_Very few knew where the points were…_

"There was…"

_Few knew…_

"They…"

_… where the points **were**._

And there is was, spread across her mind's eye, everything that she had seen. The fog, that ugly, color stealing mass that floated as on the wind, but smelled like it was weighed down with the life bloods of thousands. There were the screams, as someone saw another lose all that they had been to the ugly, ugly cloud… only to be silenced. Cut off, as it seeped into them.

"Link…"

Her leg was beginning the throb, as it hung limply over the side of the still moving horse. She stared at the torn shreds of fabric that one once been her pants. There had been blood on them, but it was gone, washed away. Gone…

"Link… I'm gonna- I'm gonna be-" He was already reining in the horse and halfway down from it when the heaves started from somewhere in the center of her body. Somehow, he got her down and tried to support her, but she collapsed to her knees and dropped her head onto her arms as they folded on the ground. She dry heaved for an endless amount of time, positive there was nothing in her system that could be ejected out. The whole time, Link just stood there, one hand on the reins to keep control of a horse that was quickly growing bored. When her convulsions stops, Sairah began to sob quietly, and, as the sun set behind the trees, even those drained themselves out. This was a longer process, but Link was willing to wait, even until the moon was at its highest point in the sky. Sairah had been quiet for a bit, and now she pushed herself up on her hands and stood.

"_Why_?" she demanded. "No… _who?_ Tell me who… created that… _thing_." She was still shaking as Link silently helped her back onto the horse, then clambered on behind her.

"We brought you here to find out why," he told her, "and who. Right now, no one knows, but we do know that it, that dog, wasn't something that acted on its own. It has a master, and its master sent it to your world for the purpose of weeding you out."

"Well, I'm here," she snapped, raking a finger through her knotted, wind tossed hair. "Bring 'em on."

_I hope it's that easy._ It wasn't something he could say aloud, because to say it meant he actually had to put hope into it. That wasn't going to happen.


	3. Oddity

"Welcome to the capital of Hyrule!" Sairah's feet touched the ground, but she kept her body pressed close to the side of the horse, and consequently, Link's leg. The rest of their trip into this bustling spot of life and noise had been quiet, and now, being suddenly dumped into was enough to make her want to go back out into the field, or even back to the lake, water sprites and all.

"I'll be right back, just stay here for a moment." He, and the horse, pulled away, leaving her standing, or rather, cowering, by herself in the center of dozens of people that were both unfamiliar and strange. Even thought he was on horseback, she still lost sight of him fairly quickly, and was in no way encouraged by the looks people were giving her. Several had backed away, leaving a very distinct area around her, and on top of that, things had become very, very quiet.

"I'm going to kill that blonde haired idiot when I get my hands on him," Sairah muttered to herself, looking over the faces that watched her. Then, a small voice inquired,

"Mama, why are her ears so funny looking?" The voice was hushed, but it started up a domino effect in the crowd.

"Her clothes, they look odd…"

"Didn't she come in with…?"

"I've never seen hair that color…"

"My ears?" Sairah wondered aloud to herself. She looked around, seeing now only the sides of people faces. All of them had… pointed ears, ears that sloped up and looked like…

She broke into a run, pushing through the crowd, which parted when they saw her coming. Some of the whispers and statements had become more vocal and loud. When she fell to her knees at the side of a fountain, though, she stopped hearing all of them.

This… was what she looked like?

The face that stared back at her from the water held only slightly with the half formed image of herself she had imagined in her head. One of cheek was scratched to a raw pink, and a thin scar ran along her jawline, stopping just below her ear. Her hair, which was cut short and stuck out in a tousled mess, was a color that could be called "maroon", not quite red, but not quiet purple or black, either. Her eyes were blue, and the only thing that seemed normal to her. And her ears weren't pointed. They ran up and rounded out, normal by the standards of her world.

Her world that didn't exist anymore.

The bile heaved itself up in her throat again and she clapped her hand over her mouth to keep it all in. In the sunlight that reflected off of the water and back up at her, a strange symbol became apparent against the pale white of the back of her palm. Three triangles, etched into her skin like a tattoo. She gasped and yanked her hand away, turning her wrist so that she could get a look at what was no longer there. But she had seen them, she had, that symbol that-

_Three triangles to make the-_

"Hey, little lady, we don't want any freaks in our city." She tilted her head back to look up at the three forms that now stood over her. "Leave, before you get hurt," continued the one to her left as he took a step forward. Sairah pushed herself up with the aid of the fountain and straightened to the face the three men. The sun on her face warmed her skin and a strange calm flowed through her, reaching all the way to her fingertips, which dangled limply at her sides.

"I'm sorry, but I have nowhere to go to," she explained quietly. "You see, I'm here because… because…"

_I'm here because someone brought me here. _

"I'm here because there's something I need to do," she finished, lifting her hands and wrapping her arms around her waist. "So I'm sorry, but I just can't leave right now." She brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, well aware of how the motion drew attention to the difference that had caused this ruckus to begin with. The men exchanged a glance between them – there were three, plus the entire crowd that was already shifting back, and all were at least a head taller than she. They looked to be hardworking men, with shirts stained from a day's or more worth of sweat and dirt, their skin tanned to a deep brown. They were also ripped, a feature that shifted her train of thought in a different direction. If they attacked her, which _did_ seem to be the plan forming silently between them, she would need to move, and fast. Anyone of them could do a lot of damage, if they were to actually catch her.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you leave us no choice," said the tallest, the one to her left. If she stood to his shoulder, she would have been lucky. Instead, she was eye level with his chest, which was trapped underneath a shift one size to small. He moved in towards her, and the mass of his height and build shadowed her face. She took a step back, right into the side of the fountain, than actually up and onto the ledge. Now she was on par with his height, and taller than the others, which gave her a peculiar vantage point of the village. She shifted her weight so that it was balanced more evenly on the balls of her feet and-

was jerked off of her post by the collar of her shirt.

"If you're going to get into trouble every time I leave you by yourself, this is going to take longer than I thought," muttered Link, hauling her backwards through the stunned crowd. "By the goddesses, Sairah-"

"Hey! That's not fair! I didn't start it!" she protested, jerking herself from his graps and standing on her own two feet. He didn't even pause in his walking, and she had to do a fair bit of jogging to catch up with him as the stone ground became dirt and what had been a sudden onslaught of civilization temporarily came to end. The sun was stronger here, and it caused another rise in the same calm feeling that had filled her in the marketplace. Even Link's steps slowed, and he walked beside her, at her pace, while she took in the scenary. It had been night out on the field, with morning only just ending as they had rode into the place where he had left her. Now, in the early afternoon, she could enjoy the warm smells of the grass and wind.

"We'll have to find you something else to where before you see the princess," said Link quite abruptly, and she looked up at him with wide eyes before looking down at herself. What was it the villagers had said? "Strange clothes…" ? Indeed, her clothes did look strange, even in her eyes. Her shirt was ripped at the hem, and one sleeve was gone entirely, and never mind the mess that her jeans were. In addition to that, she had seen her face, and remembered all too clearing how that had looked.

"Can I wash up somewhere, too?" she asked. Meeting a princess was an important thing, she figured, no matter what dimension you happened to be in. Besides, there would always be the little, nagging voice of her mother in the back of her mind, reminding her that she should always look her best, in any situation.

_Momma…_ She would never hear that voice again, would she?

_No._ She stopped herself, and, at the same time, her own footsteps, just as their path was coming to an end at a large gate. _No, I won't,_ she reminded herself. _I won't think about them._ Not her parents, not her brother, not her friends, nor the rest of her family. She couldn't, she just… couldn't.

"Sairah, come on." The gate was opened, and the guard was already nodding firmly to Link. Link returned the gesture, and motioned for Sairah to move forward. "Zelda should be done with her daily audiences soon. She'll want to see you soon after that."

"… right," agreed Sairah, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I'm coming, sorry."

"Headache?" asked Link as she caught up and the gate began to slide shut behind them. She nodded and forced a smile for him.

"Yeah. I'm just a little tired, I think."

_I try to avoid author's notes (at least, in my more recent projects), but I really felt the need to leave one here just to say that I _hate_ exposition chapters. There should, hopefully, be far less "blah story background plot" vomit from now on. Well, that's the plan, at least. Thanks for reading this far, and remember, comments are encouraged and appreciated._


	4. Mother

Sairah was more or less sure that she was probably, really hallucinating - a lot. The further they walked into the castle grounds, the more sure she became. This place was _familiar, _and in a way that made her worry.

She had been worrying quite a bit already, since she had woken up on the back of Link's horse and subsequently vomited in a lovely shrub along the road they had taken. She knew her name, but she also knew that it should have two parts – and that "Hero of the Second Realm" didn't count for the second part. She knew she was from another world different than the one she was in, but all she had were vague memories of that place. She remembered people – her parents, a brother, close friends she'd called "sisters", and misty faces of less close friends, but still people she had cared about. What she didn't remember were places, or names, or events, with the glaring exception of the fog and its course through the faces that she remembered. She remembered how no one had screamed, and that scared her most of all.

This place she was in now, however, the grounds of this sprawling palace, was familiar and unreal. She knew it, but in her mind's eye it was different, as if someone had shown her a picture of it once. Some places they passed immediately jumped out at her when they had no reason to – the guardhouse at the front gate and a winding pathway that lead to nothing but a blocked up wall drew her the strongest, while she also had an urge to take off across the hills to her left to avoid the guards. She forced herself to concentrate on Link's back and to keep one hand on the strap of Epona's saddle. The earthy smell of horse was comforting, even if there were vague undertones of vomit.

They rounded the hill, and the guards they passed hailed Link as if old friends. He smiled or grinned and waved back and Sairah did her best to stay invisible beside the horse, watching the dirt ground beneath her feet more than she watched the scenery they walked through. She became incredibly interested in the patterns the torn strips of her pants created as she walked and the breeze teased them this way and that. So interesting she found it that she stopped paying any attention at all to where she was going and plowed directly into Epona's side when Link made a sharp right turn. The dirt became wood planks and the grass and ground abruptly stopped as it dropped off into a mote that flowed beneath the bridge. Sairah rubbed her nose where it had smacked into Epona's saddle and looked from the bridge, up and up and up along the walls of the castle that now loomed before. It was quite a bit bigger up close and she felt her jaw drop as she strained to see where it stopped.

"Sir Link, welcome back!" said a cheerful voice that somehow managed to drag Sairah's vision back down. A young man with a shock of red hair was all but bouncing across the courtyard toward them, a huge grin on his face. Link gave a wave.

"Thank you, Halon," he said, handing the reins of Sairah's horse shield over when the young man was close enough. Halon's grin only widened, displaying more teeth than Sairah would ever be comfortable seeing on any one person again.

"My pleasure, Sir Link. I'll be taking Epona back, if that's fine with you?" He gave the reins a gentle tug, but Epona resisted long enough to nuzzle her head against Sairah's shoulder and wuffle warm air against her shirt. Sairah scratched the horse's nose, but was surprised at the sign of affection, considering she'd only known the horse less than a day and had, you know, puked on her.

"My sister sends her regards," Halon added with a wink as he began to lead the horse away. Sairah saw enough of Link's face turn red to understand why he stammered his response the way he did, and she kept her giggling to herself.

Now she worried about that too, as she followed Link across the courtyard. Why did she feel as if she knew Link enough to know why he blushed and stammered? _Why_ did she feel like she understood the situation, as if she knew about the "sister" that Halon had mentioned? And, to add to that, why had she let Epona go, her only hiding place so far?

"Agh," she muttered to herself, rubbing her face with her hands, which was about the only part of "_Just what the hell is going on here!?_" she felt like saying out loud.

"Her Majesty instructed me to bring you to her as soon as you felt ready to meet her," Link said as they passed into a small set of doors opposite of the doors they had entered in. "There will be a bath and a change of clothes ready for you, if you would like them first." Sairah's brain instantly connected the word "bath" with the image of sitting in a tub full of delicious, steaming hot water and it was all she could do to not sigh in ecstasy. She knew she was dirty, bloodstained, and spotted with vomit, and didn't really take to the idea of meeting _anybody_ while she looked and felt like that.

"Bath first," she said as Link stopped to look back at her. She gave a wane smile. "Please." He nodded and motioned for her to follow him up a nearby flight of stairs. As she started up after him, a woman carrying a basket full of laundry came bustling down passed them and Sairah quickly ducked her head and felt her hair sweep forward to cover her ears, which had been her goal from the start. The woman said nothing but a grunt of hello towards Link and a polite "excuse me, miss" as she saddled passed Sairah. Sairah breathed again when she was gone, but Link only chuckled.

"Don't let what the townspeople said get to you," he said quietly. "Queen Zelda is known far and wide for bringing in people of all species. You're hardly the strangest looking person the castle staff will have seen, I promise." Sairah nodded, but silently decided to keep her ears covered the best she could, at least until she met this Queen, and heard from herself that Sairah's appearance wouldn't be giving any other small children nightmares.

Link led her up the staircase and down a long hallway. Just before it turned a corner, _he_ turned and entered into one of the open doors. In the center of the room, backlit by strong evening sunlight, a woman stood with her arms crossed across her chest. The smile on Link's face at the sight of the woman was both warm and confused.

"Alextera, I didn't expect to see you so soon," he commented. "Sairah, this is Alextera, Queen Zelda's personal servant. Alextera, this is-"

"I know who the girl is, Link," said the woman coolly, making Sairah cringe. Was she already in trouble? She really wanted a _bath_, not a dressing down. "Welcome to Hyrule, Lady Sairah. I hope your trip went well." Now there was a hint of irony in that voice, as if it knew darn well how much Sairah's trip to this world had sucked. Sairah dug her fingernails into her palms, but said nothing. Queen's servant or no, this woman was a bitch.

Link seemed to catch on to the flare up in temper, and did his best to save the situation.

"Alextera, Sairah decided to bathe and dress before meeting Zelda. Is everything ready for her?" There was a tone in his voice that drew Sairah's attention to him, as if he'd suddenly developed an urge to be an army commander. In the light shadows that the backlight of sun created, Alextera narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, it is," she said stiffly. "I was sent to escort you to _Her Majesty_," she added, narrowing her eyes as she forced out the last two words. "One of the handmaidens will bring Lady Sairah along when she is ready. I will wait for you in the hallway." Alextera took her leave of the room before Link even had the chance to nod, but he was grinning by the time she passed him.

"Nothing gets that woman's goat more than calling the queen by just her name," he said quietly. His grin was infectious, and Sairah couldn't help by share it, especially since she was developing a dislike for the woman, having met her for a total of about a minute.

"The handmaidens will take care of you," said Link. "They're hand picked and trained by Zelda herself, and, _trust me_, have seen and cared for much weirder looking creatures than you." Sairah frowned, but nodded, still not convinced that she wasn't the weirdest looking thing to come to Hyrule Castle, not after the way the villagers had treated her. Link gave her another smile.

"I'll see you again shortly," he said as he made his way to the door. Sairah smirked at his back – she doubted that, for as long as she was planning to hide in the bath that had been promised her.

As he left the room, a door to her left opened and a woman stepped out. She was roughly Sairah's age and height, with a mess of dark brown curls trapped beneath a scarf. She smiled at Sairah and motioned into the room behind her.

Not much time later, Sairah stood in front of a mirror in the middle room again, wondering just what the heck had happened and how it had happened so fast. She'd been pulled into a circle of five women and stripped completely before she'd had a chance to protest. Then she had been dumped unceremoniously dumped into a tub of lukewarm water and chastised for taking so long to arrive at the castle. The chastising was combined with rough scrubbing, though they had been decidedly gentle with her leg when they had seen the half-healed gash that marred it. One of them was sent to summon a doctor while she was pulled out of the water and toweled (roughly) down. She had certainly been clean at that point, if scarred in her dignity to be standing stark naked in a room full of chattering women who hustled about, rearranging piles of clothes until they found what they wanted. Someone surprised her by tossing a dress over her head while she watched the others and before she'd known it, she was laced into the thing like a straight jacket. This was the only time they listened to her, when she begged them to loosen the laces because _she couldn't breathe._ One of them had given a heavy sigh, as if she was being an absolutely unreasonable diva about the whole thing, but the laces had been loosened, thankfully.

Following the dress, there had been undergarments, and a hairbrush and then a woman with a brown leather bag who had taken a look at her leg and dressed it carefully in a bandage, saying there was nothing else she could do. As soon as _she _had left, four of the women quickly followed, leaving Sairah standing in the middle of the room she had started in, wondering just what the heck had happened to her. The fifth woman, the woman who had initially welcomed her into the other room, stood quietly behind her, holding a pair of slippers in one hand while she fiddled with the laces with her other.

"Is the lady satisfied?" she asked, the first thing she'd actually said to Sairah the whole time. Sairah blinked.

"It's fine," she said after a moment, looking at her reflection again. Sure, it was fine. The dress fit her as if it was made for her frame, cutting close to her skin on the bodice and gently falling into the skirt. There were no sleeves to speak off, just shoulder straps slightly wider than Sairah's definition of "spaghetti" strap. The whole ensemble was cream colored, with the exception of the laces on the back of the bodice, which, oddly enough, matched her maroon colored hair.

"Well, then," said the woman behind her. "We mustn't keep Her Majesty waiting. You'll be wanting these," she said, handing Sairah the slippers. Sairah took them and sat on a nearby footstool to put them on. Her injured leg took some work to maneuver, as the bandages tightened funnily when she tried to move it. As she worked on that, the maid went back into the second room and came back, carrying something in both of her hands. As Sairah stood to test her shoe-putting on skills, the maid held it out.

"You'll also be wanting this, I suppose," she said, and for the first time, Sairah caught an edge of sadness. She looked up and saw what the woman was holding – a sword in a decorative leather scabbard, and then looked up further at the woman's face. Now, also for the first time, she picked up the signs of age that she had missed before – the crow's feet at the woman's eyes, and the grey that tinged some of the curls.

"Your mother and I were friends when you were born," the woman said, still holding out the sword. "That I should be the one to give you this, and not her…" Sairah looked back down at the sword, at the scabbard, and the strap that dangled down from it. These too showed signs of age, scratches and scuffs, though it had been shined into a dull gleam. In her mind, it conjured up an image of sunlight and the smell of dirt. The sound of fighting and the feel of sweat. It was as if-

She grabbed the sword before she finished the thought, overcome by the urge to hold it. The leather beneath her fingers was warm and welcoming and only solidified the image in her mind. For a second, she let it overwhelm her-

_The ground was packed dirt dusted with sand to make the footing more difficult. Boots scraped and struggled as the men and women using the arena struggled against their opponents and against the ground. The sun burned bright overhead, and someone near her was laughing. At the center of the ring, her mother stood, armored in the armor of the King's Elite, the sunlight gleaming off her polished chest piece-_

"We should hurry, Lady Sairah." The maid's voice cut into the vision and Sairah felt herself nod, though she relished the feeling of strength her mother's image had left with her. The maid smiled again. "Come, I'll take you to her." Sairah slipped the scabbard over her shoulder, and began to adjust it quickly – then she stopped herself. Since when had she known how to use a scabbard, or to know when it fit properly?

Then she stopped herself again. This worrying was getting her _nowhere_. Her only real hope now was that all these questions that had slowly been building up in the hours since she had awoken could be answered by Queen Zelda.

It was really the only hope she had.


End file.
